Door for grain-cars



(No Model.) I

V C. P. WILLSON.

DOOR FOR GRAIN CARS.

5 M w A M -m MM U m P m m N0 Attorney.

u. vzrzns, mwum hu. wmn mn. ac.

CHARLES I. WILLSON, OF SUMMIT POINT, WEST VIRGINIA..

DOOR FOR GRAIN-CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 319,371, dated June 2,1885.

Application filed March 25, 1885.

T0 aZZ whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, CHARLES P. WILLsoN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Summit Point, in the county of Jefferson and State of WestVirginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Doors forGrain- Oars, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to certain improve ments in grain-cars.

The object of the invention is to provide the separate board sectionswhich compose the door with metal eyes which are open on one side,whereby they may slide on the vertical rods and be detached therefrom;also, to provide vertical guides adjacent to the vertical rods,wherebythe board sections are prevented from detachment while in the doorway.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichFigure l is an outside view of the car-door. Fig. 2 is a horizontalsection on the line as. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of one-half or oneside of a car, showing the door. Fig. 4 is an inside view showing theposition of the door'sections when they close the doorway. Fig. 5 is aView of an end of a section separately showing the sheet-metal tipthereon to protect it. Fig. 6 is a view of the eye attached to eachsection, and which slides on the rod. Fig. 7 shows the lifting-lug onthe lower section.

An ordinary box freight-car, A, has a slid ing door, B. To adapt suchcars for carrying grain in bulk provision must be made for 010s ing thelower part of the doorway B, so as to make it tight enough to preventthe loss of grain. Heretofore this has been done by placing boardsacross the doorway on the inner side and nailing them to the door-frame.This, however, has been a resort of such a temporary nature as to proveboth troublesome and expensive.

The door to which my improvements relate consists of separate boardsections, each provided with metal eyes and two vertical rods, one eachside of the doorway, whereon the eyes slide, whereby the board sectionsmay be raised and lowered to open or close the lower part of thedoorway.

My improvements will first be described and then claimed.

At each side of the doorway is a vertical rabbet-shaped guide, 0, whichassists to keep (No model.)

the board sections in position as they move up or down.

Adjacent to each guide and partly occupying it is a rod, D, the lowerend of which is made fast to the bottom part of car-frame. The upperpart of this rod has a curve, 6, which gives it a nearly horizontaldirection from the doorway toward the middle of the car, as seen in Fig.3, where it is made fast. This nearly horizontal part f of the rod isjust below the ear-roof g.

The board sections J have near each end an eye, h. Each eye takesloosely about one of the rods D, and is adapted to slide thereon. Theend of each board section, preferably, is protected by a sheet-metaltip, 70. (See Fig. 5.) The eyes h, as plainly shown in Figs. 2 and 6,are open at one side, in order to permit their detachment from the rodsD. It will be seen by reference to Fig. 2 that both of the eyes on eachboard section have their open side in the same direction, from which itresults that when the board section is moved endwise the open side ofthe eyes will allow them to disconnect from the rods. As long, however,as the board sections are in the doorway, or the ends of the boardsections are confined by the guides O, this endwise movement cannot takeplace; but when the board sections are raised above the guides andpassed over the curves 6 onto the nearly horizontal part f, then theendwise movement may be made.

When it is not desired to have the doorway closed by the board sections,they may be kept stowed out of the way just below the car-roof on thenearly horizontal part f of the rods. To retain them from slipping downin front of the doorway, each side of the doorwayframe is provided witha pivoted hold-up or button, Z, whose free end, when in a horizontalposition, projects across the path of the board sections. A stop, m,below the pivoted button prevents its turning down, but it is free to belifted by a person s finger. It will be seen that in raising the boardsections they will pass the hold-up button; but the latter device willprevent them from slipping down.

To hold the board sections down firmly to the floor, another button, a,is pivoted to the side of the doorway-frame. This button must be adaptedto allow the board sections to come ICO down, but when all are down,prevent them from rising.

The lowermost board section is provided on the outer side withlifting-lugs P. This is a cast-metal plate to rest against the section,and is attached by bolts. An under shoulder, q, is to receive the end ofa lever, such as a crowbar, and the plate 4 below the shoulder is toprotect the Wood of the section from the end of the crow-bar. By thismeans all the board sections, which are held tightly by the lateralpressure of the grain, may be raised from the bottom of the car to allowthe grain to flow out under the sections.

Having described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by LettersPatent of the United States 1. A door for grain-cars having in eombination a rod extending vertically at each side of the doorway, andseparate board sections having eyes which are open on one side, Wherebythe board sections may slide up and down on said rods, and also bedetached therefrom, as set forth. a

2. A door for grain-cars having in combination a rod extendingvertically at each side of the doorway, vertical rabbet-shaped guides 0,adjacent to the rods, and separate board sections having eyes which areopen on one side, as set'forth.

In testimony whereof Iaffix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES P. WILLSON. W'itnesses:

THOS. S. TIMBERLAKE, W. H. HILLEARY.

